This afternoon the three ducks we keep in our garden were making their typical racket, each day for us is filled with various duck calls. The female in the groups makes it very well know she is hungry and wants some feed. We have the ducks to deal with the slug problem; living in the Pacific Northwest we have more than our share of slugs.
Early afternoon today the female duck started calling loudly, it was a mix of her “I want something” and “I’m distressed” calls. My wife went out to investigate. All three ducks had managed to get inside the small fence around the greenhouse at the center of the garden. The small fence is there to keep them out of the herbs and flowers. The female was calling for extraction from the hot zone, much like commandos might call for extraction after a raid.
As my wife worked to get the ducks on the right side of the fence she noticed two crows diving into a nearby bush; this caught her attention. In the bush a flash of color was seen that didn’t seem to fit, blue against the green of the bush.
In the bush was a blue male parakeet, both of his feet were gummed in tree sap. He was hanging by one leg upside down, his other foot covered in sap, unusable. My wife shushed the crows away and started to rescue the poor parakeet. Our chickens came to investigate and had to be locked in the run outside their coop. The little frightened parakeet fought back as my wife worked to free him, biting her several times.
Once she had him freed she noticed his wings were clipped, there was more tree sap on his tail. A quick phone call to the local vet provided my wife a game plan to remove the sap. The vet was afraid of the parakeet getting it inside his beak if he tried to remove the sap himself. A few minutes with Goo-Gone, a solvent used to remove label glue freed his feet. A foot soak in diluted vinegar neutralized the solvent. She picked the remaining spots of sap from his tail.
We have several cages on our property, a suitable cage was found, and perches installed, feeder and waterier bought.
The vet mentioned that if he was outdoors last night he will most likely die from pneumonia within a day. There is nothing she can do to prevent this. Morning will tell if he will live or not.
I would guess by now you’ve figured out why he was quickly named Lucky, the ducks getting into the herb bed lead to his rescue. Hopefully his luck will hold out and he will live past tomorrow.
He’s spent the day in our bedroom, exploring his new cage. He’s played with the bell and even perched on my wife’s finger a few times. He seems healthy and happy so far. His feet seem fine. All toes work, he perches fine and moves around the cage like a pro.
We’ll watch the neighborhood for signs, the local paper for lost ads. We live in the country and are fairly isolated from our neighbors. The one neighbor we were able to contact reported no missing parakeets.
If he lives and isn’t claimed by his owners he’ll have a happy life here. For friends he’ll have three crazy ducks, a dozen chickens; half of which are old enough they no longer lay. We let them live out their senior years free ranging and enjoying cracked corn as a treat. Lucky will also need to get to know two rabbits, a dog and our cat. It’s a zoo but honestly we wouldn’t have it any other way.
A quick update – Lucky is doing well. He’s healthy and happy having joined our family.
Another update – Lucky has been with us for over a year now, he’s healthy, happy and noisy.
